JL: Everybody knows you’re a ‘good ol’ Joe’, did you really grow up on a farm?
JD: Yeah, actually I did, kind of a farm/ranch situation. Primarily we lived in Oklahoma, and we also had a farm up in Wisconsin. So yeah, I built a lot of fence and baled a lot of hay.

JL: I noticed you’re in a skeet shooting event, did you grow up hunting?
JD: I definitely grew up hunting. When I was a kid, I worked all year on the farm for my Dad, and I remember at the end of the year, he kinda threw the Montgomery Ward Catalog at me, and said "Pick out whatever you want out of there, you know, for your working on the farm." So I picked out a 12 gauge shotgun and a case of shells. So my cousin and I hunted all over the place. There wasn’t a small animal safe for miles around us.

JL: I grew up in Ky. I always hunted rabbit and squirrel, but back then you ate what you killed.
JD: That was one of the things my Dad always told me too, you don’t just go out and kill anything for fun. If you kill a squirrel, rabbit or whatever, you bring it home and eat it, and we did.

JL: Farm people seem to have a different set of values. What would you say is the best lesson you learned and who did you learn it from?
JD: Oh, gosh, so many lessons. I think the biggest thing I learned was being responsible. Of course, I try to apply that to my life as much as possible, I’m sure I’ve messed up plenty of times! I was driving tractors, farm equipment, and pickups when I was working on the farm. It was a necessary thing. We had cattle to feed, and things to do, and my Dad couldn’t do it all by himself. I was pretty much working like an adult. So I think responsibility was probaby the biggest thing.

JL: If you had to choose one song that you’ve recorded that you feel is ‘your’ song, which one would it be?
JD: Gosh, that’s a tough one. I’d have to say either Pick-Up Man or John Deere Green, that rural kind of feeling.

JL: Does your family ever go out on the road with you?
JD: That’s the hardest part. You know, everybody ask you if there’s a downside to this business, and that’s the only real one, being gone from your family. With school and different activities, it’s real difficult to get your kids to go with you. So, occasionally I get them out on the road. When we travel together, we just have a big time, it’s not often enough though.

JL: What’s your favorite holiday of the year?
JD: Probably Thankgiving. You get the luxury of being around family, and relaxing, watching football games, eating and taking it easy, without all the inconvenience of worrying about buying presents for everybody. Plus I like the cool fall crisp air.

JL: Speaking of food, what’s your favorite food?
JD: Oh gosh, I’ll eat anything that’ll lay still on the platter! I love Mexican food. I like all the things that aren’t good for you, like Mexican, hamburgers, and pizza. I could live on that!

JL: Do you have a favorite place to stop and eat at, when you’re out on the road?
JD: There’s a great little Mexican food restaurant in Oklahoma City, called Casino DeMina , it’s run by some great people. Authentic Mexican people.

JL: Is there a food you don’t like?
JD: You know, that goes back to being raised on the farm. We raised our own garden, our own beef, our own chickens, and the whole deal, so there’s really not much I don’t like.

JL: What’s your idea of the perfect day off?
JD: Any day I can get up and go play golf, come home and have supper and sit in my easy chair.

JL: Do much sightseeing out on the road?
JD: No, we travel at night most of the time. We see the back of a lot of buildings, and a lot of dumpsters. Every once in a while we get to see some great golf courses. That gets me out of the bus, to see some greenery.

JL: So you stop to smell the greens instead of the roses?
JD: Exactly!

JL: What’s the best gift you’ve received from a fan?
JD: One of the most heartfelt gifts I ever received, was when a lady brought her brother to one of my shows. He was a special Olympian. He was standing there in his running outfit, and had a medal around his neck. He took the medal off and put it around my neck, there just wasn’t a dry eye in the place!

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1Qt. Beer
1/2 chopped onion

Bring beer to boil, add onion, reduce to simmer, add brats, cook 10 minutes, remove brats, grill slowly until crisp!